Noob questions

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http://www.phanteks.com/Enthoo-Primo.html I'm going to do a fresh build in that case and would like to watercool.

I plan to put both the CPU and GPU under water and overclock relatively hard. My initial though was to AIO both but i fancy the idea of going the custome route.

Baseline would be a 240mm AIO for the GPU and CPU with a G12 NZXT bracket on the GPU, my preference is probably more toward the system being quiet than anything else as previous use of AIO's has shown them to be suitably cold for the OCing i am comfortable to run.

So i guess the question is whats the sort of budget i need to be setting to see benefit over the AIO's? or where is the starting point for good but "cheap"?

I have no interest in the flashy stuff but also no issue with it existing if it happens to be part of a kit.

I am yet to pick the internals so exact blocks will change when i pick them but rads fans pump etc should be universal (i think).
 
Soldato
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if you plan to overclock relativity hard then you'll need all the radiators you can fit, especially if you plan to run the pc with quite fans, custom loops are far quieter than aio's and offer huge cooling benefits in most cases, but radiators are they key, the more (or bigger) you can fit the better cooling and quieter your build can be.

it would be more obviously, plus a good clean out of the loop every 6-12 is recommend for custom loops, depending on what hardware you're using in the new case i'd go for a 360mm rad for the cpu and minimum 240mm rad for the gpu for best overclocking/ quiet operation, looking at the case you mention it can fit upto 480mm rads in the top and bottom that would give unparalleled cooling capability and choosing the correct fans will make a massive difference (big overclock's and near silent fan operation)

for a custom loop setup you'd be looking a good £500-£1200 depending on what kind of components you choose, but you should be able to get everything including the required blocks for what you need (extensive planning is needed though)
 
Soldato
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  • overclock relatively hard
  • preference is probably more toward the system being quiet
  • good but cheap
I think you might find these tough to achieve in the same build.

It sounds like you want quiet and cheap more than you do a rig that can handle loads of heat, so maybe I’d focus on that, I think performance wise a custom loop will be able to be quieter and look better than two AIOs but will be quite a bit more expensive.

Do you have any preferences as to hard or soft tubing, as soft would save a quite a bit of cash.

Other than that, maybe you could look at second hand blocks (it’s what I’m currently doing though I’m going to invest in a new pump.) This would bring the price down, but might be tough to do in the current situation.
 
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  • overclock relatively hard
  • preference is probably more toward the system being quiet
  • good but cheap
I think you might find these tough to achieve in the same build.

It sounds like you want quiet and cheap more than you do a rig that can handle loads of heat, so maybe I’d focus on that, I think performance wise a custom loop will be able to be quieter and look better than two AIOs but will be quite a bit more expensive.

Do you have any preferences as to hard or soft tubing, as soft would save a quite a bit of cash.

Other than that, maybe you could look at second hand blocks (it’s what I’m currently doing though I’m going to invest in a new pump.) This would bring the price down, but might be tough to do in the current situation.

Quiet is key, looking for less noise at full tilt than you would get at idle with OEM coolers and a cheaper aftermarket GPU if i can achieve that.

I think i have worked out how to part over the internals from my z420 (5pin fan mod) so its going to be a 2011 processor and GPU will be updated when the next lot of cards land in august ish.

Basically I'm looking to spend the minimum reasonable to achieve the goal so i'm not chasing the for double the cost this block is 4% better at cooling games but i'd happyly go for a bigger rad or stronger pump if it means the fans can run around silent, I wont be showing off the case so astetics are hard at the bottom of the list of desires.
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Aug 2017
Posts
2,755
Location
United Kingdom
Quiet is key, looking for less noise at full tilt than you would get at idle with OEM coolers and a cheaper aftermarket GPU if i can achieve that.

I think i have worked out how to part over the internals from my z420 (5pin fan mod) so its going to be a 2011 processor and GPU will be updated when the next lot of cards land in august ish.

Basically I'm looking to spend the minimum reasonable to achieve the goal so i'm not chasing the for double the cost this block is 4% better at cooling games but i'd happyly go for a bigger rad or stronger pump if it means the fans can run around silent, I wont be showing off the case so astetics are hard at the bottom of the list of desires.

if your transplanting a z420 system over to a new case then I'd say go down the aio route as that will save you the most amount of cash, most coolers for socket 2066 are compatible with 2011 so that will be ok, depending on which gpu you have I'd say the kraken g12 gpu aio bracket (you'd have to check your card first before buying it) budget wise for the aio's and brackets would be around £250 for the lot (2*240mm aio's and the g12 gpu bracket)
 
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